Newbie

Hi everyone,I am new to the forum and I look forward to speaking to you all in the near future

[rayw55]

Hi James, welcome and please do not be hesitant in asking any questions you may have, we have all to one extent or another either 'been through the mill' ourselves or are very close to those that have and there is a myriad of great advice and knowledge on here that can help with any queries you may have .

[Hidden in reply to rayw55]

Hi Ray.This may seem a soil question,but with swallowing what stage do you get to before you know when you have a problem swallowing in the throat,I have always had a problem with citrus fruit especially oranges,I had a endoscopy examination in the mid 90s where the Dr found the problem was a muscle problem where the gullet meets the stomach,which he also said that I had a hiatus hernia,I cannot face another endoscopy as I pulled this one out as it was very frightening

At the moment when I swallow orange juice I can swallow the orange but it's after its gone down,there seems to be a tightening in my throat,I would appreciate it if anyone on the forum as experienced this,I also have this problem when eating a orange this tightening also happens when it goes down my gullet across my rib cage,sorry for this being long winded

Regards

[tallbear in reply to Hidden]

Hello James,

What you are experiencing is a relatively common problem and is probably linked to the hiatus hernia thing.

From what I can understand the hiatus hernia is at the junction between the oesophagus and the stomach.

You say you pulled the endoscope out in the mid 90's and I can completely understand how you feel but you do need to ask your Doctor to set up another endoscopy for you, and this time insist that you are sedated it will make all the difference and it is the only real way to get to the root of the problem.

I hated the endoscopy and I put it off repeatedly when the Doctor said I should go for one, and when I finally went they found I had Barrets oesophagus which developed to cancer and I had to have a truly major operation, and you don't want that if you can avoid it.

So my advice, don't be frightened of the endoscopy insist on heavy sedation, tell them you may become aggressive.

The bottom line is if you don't get the endoscopy you could live to regret it.

It worked for me and I just woke up in the recovery area about an hour later not knowing anything had happened.

I would not have an endoscopy now without sedation, and it will be in your best interest.

Good luck with it all

[Hidden in reply to tallbear]

Thanks for your reply taller, I forgot to say I eventually had the scope and they said it was a muscle problem,I don't get food stuck or fluids stuck in the gullet

Regards

[rayw55 in reply to Hidden]

Hi James, DO NOT PUT OFF AN ENDOSCOPY! things have changed greatly in the last 20 years, I used to have regular endoscopies (every 3 months) for almost 20 years before I was diagnosed with cancer having had barretts oesophagus diagnosed in the early 90's. Just get the doctor to give you a sedative, that way you really are not aware of the procedure at all. It sounds like you have a restriction of some kind whether this is the join again or something else is open to conjecture but an endoscopy would identify teh cause. PLEASE do not put it off- Best regards Ray

[Hidden in reply to rayw55]

Thanks Ray for that

[Hidden in reply to rayw55]

Ray. You say things have changed in the last 20 years,can you tell me in what way they have changed

Regards

[Hidden]

The lower oesophageal sphincter is associated with the muscles of the diaphragm, which acts as a valve to stop stomach acid coming up, but relaxing to allow food and drink to pass downwards. It is at the junction of the oesophagus and the stomach. Your swallowing function relies on muscles working in sequence (peristalsis) so the trouble you had might have been a problem with these muscles. The hiatus hernia means you have part of your stomach protruding above the diaphragm and there is a likelihood of stomach acid coming up into the oesophagus. This reflux (and indeed problems with the sphincter) can, for some people in some circumstances, trigger off muscular reactions. So if it is oranges / citrus fruit that causes you a problem it is sensible to avoid eating them. Sometimes the muscles go into a spasm that creates a serious chest pain.

If there is an oesophageal problem, it will probably feel that the food is getting stuck in your chest rather than higher up in your throat. It is a good idea to have the problem properly diagnosed, and an endoscopy of the best way of the doctors establishing whether or not there is a physical obstruction that is causing a problem. Having sedation for this procedure is fairly standard practice, although some people manage with a throat spray. It makes a difference in the clinic because they have to have an anaesthetist-type person in attendance but I also would recommend the sedative.

One of the other tests that may be relevant is a barium swallow test. Sometimes they also test your swallowing reaction with a variety of different food eg marshmallow, and a manometry test that measures the pressure at various points down your oesophagus.

Quite a few people have some degree of motility (swallowing) problems that they manage themselves. There are some hints about helping food to go down (eg massaging your chest area; dropping on to your heels) in A Patient's Guide to Achalasia that is available as a download, towards the bottom of this page (but this does not mean that you have achalasia as such):

opa.org.uk/pages/achalasia....

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Alan for that it's very explicit

Refards